Migraine
by Raivis-Latvijas
Summary: Andelko knew Novak suffered from chronic migraines. Today was one of the days Andelko would have to try to take care of the younger man. SerbiaxCroatia. Fluffy at points, but there is some angst.


**A/n: **Just a short little AU I wrote after a bout of my own migraines…

SerbiaxCroatia… Croatia's point of view…

Enjoy.

**Xxx**

Andelko knew Novak suffered from chronic migraines.

Every few days, he would return home to find the Serbian lying in bed in the dark with not a sound going throughout the house, or he would find him in the bathroom, vomiting as a side effect from the harsh condition. It was hard to help his lover; these intense headaches were debilitating for Novak.

Today was one of the days Andelko would have to try to take care of the younger man.

As the twenty-nine year old Croatian entered the home, he knew immediately that something was wrong. All the blinds were shut, and no lights were on. Not a single sound was heard except for the coughing of the twenty-four year old Serbian inevitably in the bedroom's bathroom.

Andelko walked to their shared room, and went into the bathroom, where he found Novak sitting on the floor against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest, arms setting on his knees and obscuring his lowered face from view.

"Novak… Is it the migraines again?" Andelko questioned, crouching down next to the younger man and placing his hand on his shoulder.

"… Y-Yeah…" Was the weak reply that came.

"How long have you been up with the migraine this time?"

"… A few… h-hours now…"

"Do you think you're going to throw up again?"

"N-No… I-I think that's… done for now…"

"Let me help you get to bed then so you can rest, Novak… Can you walk?" Andelko knew by now that the harshness of Novak's migraines often made him so lethargic it was hard to walk.

"I-I don't think so… S-Sorry…"

"That's alright, Novak. There's no need to apologize…" Andelko responded, gently picking up the younger Serbian and carrying him to the bed. He knew it must have been a humiliating thing for Novak, but Andelko never meant for it to be. He just wanted to help his husband.

He gently laid Novak down and brought the covers over him.

"Th-Thanks…" Novak muttered, curling up slightly on his side. Andelko knelt down beside the bed, placing his hand on the forearm of the other man in a comforting manner.

"You're welcome… Just rest now, alright? I'll stay here with you, if you'd like."

"Nn… I know you have work to do… Y-You best get that done…"

"Novak, my work can wait… You're more important to me than work will ever be."

"… Thank-" Novak was cut off by what must have been the pulsating pain in his head starting up once again. The Serbian cringed and his hands clenched into weak fists. His teeth were grit, and his breathing became shakier. This must have been one of the more severe migraines he was forced to suffer through.

Andelko sighed and stood, walking around to the other side of the bed. He crawled in, and laid himself next to his husband, who turned to him. Andelko wrapped his arms around the suffering man, who let out a whimper, burying his face in the Croatian's chest.

After about fifteen minutes, the pain must've subsided, because Novak managed to speak to the Croat holding him.

"G-God why does this h-have to happen to me…?" He asked.

"I don't know, Novak… I don't know." Andelko replied quietly.

"… I-It hurts s-so bad… I-It dwindles me d-down to nothing…"

"I know… Just rest, Novak… It's the best thing for you to do right now…"

Novak nodded slightly and shut his eyes, trying to relax. Andelko gently stroked the matted blonde hair of his husband, wishing that the man would fall to sleep quickly so that he didn't have to feel the pain in his head.

But it only took around five minutes for the pain to return. Novak's muscles tightened and his hands clenched into fists once again, and he let out a groan of agony. The symptoms were quite obvious to Andelko; the stiffness, the paleness in his face, and the sweat that clung to his body. There were more symptoms, but they were more physical; ones that Andelko couldn't see. Only Novak could feel them.

The migraine's pain peaked then subsided once again, a bit quicker than the last attack. Novak relaxed once more, and made an attempt to go to sleep.

For about two hours, Novak's pain was off and on, keeping him from falling asleep until finally, the Serbian fell asleep. Softly, as to not disturb the finally tranquil man before him, Andelko got out of the bed and went out of the room to start doing his paperwork.

As he sat at the kitchen table with his briefcase and a stack of papers, he sighed. He felt so bad for his husband; migraines were no joke. They caused so much pain, so many struggles to push through and endure. To watch someone go through with that, and not be able to help in the least, was the hardest thing to do as a bystander. As Novak's husband, it hit Andelko hard. It was one of the few things that bothered him to no end; he wished he could help the other man, but everything he did was futile. He had to sit and wait for the pain in the Serbian's head to subside.

Andelko sat there doing his work for about two hours before it was complete. He was a higher-up for a company and managed the company's associations with other businesses. There was lots of paperwork and being away from home; he often had to go to meetings and talk with people from the other businesses. After tomorrow's work, he would be off for a week. He knew damn well what he was going to be doing in his time off; worrying about his husband and being sure the migraines didn't return.

Both Novak and Andelko knew what the triggers for Novak's migraines were. Excessive stress was a major one. Novak had quit his former job as a trauma nurse due to the increased levels of stress he had encountered while doing his job. They had easily spurred on his migraine headaches. Now Novak's job was a bit less stressful; he worked as a pharmacist. Even with that though, he still managed to have stressful times, which triggered the little vindictive hell in his head.

Shoving away his papers in his briefcase and standing, Andelko returned to the bedroom to check on his sleeping husband.

He entered the room quietly and sat on the edge of the bed, reached a hand out and delicately caressed the cheek of the Serbian. It was admittedly nice to see Novak asleep; he was peaceful and unconscious, unable to feel any more pain from his migraines. When he awakened, they would have to see if the migraines returned or if they had subsided for the next day or two. Inevitably they would come back; if they stopped permanently it would be a gift from something above.

Andelko let out a sigh. If only that kind of a miracle would happen. He hated to see Novak in pain. He hated it with a passion. He wished painkillers and rest got rid of the ache forever, but they never did. They never could. It was just a fact he had to live with.

The Croat spent about a half hour sitting there, just watching his love sleep, before heading back out of the room due to his cell phone ringing from the kitchen table. He hurried to answer it, hoping that the ringing didn't awaken Novak.

"Hello?" He answered quietly.

"_Hey Andelko. It's Pavla." _Ah. It was Andelko's Slovenian coworker.

"Hey Pavla. How are you?"

"_I'm quite alright. And yourself?"_

"I could be better, but I guess I'm okay."

"_Say, are you free later tonight? Branko, Niko, and I were going to go out and have a few drinks."_

"I don't know… Novak's migraines started up again today. I'm hoping they subside for the rest of the day… He's sleeping right now, so I have to keep things quiet."

"_Oh. That poor man… Is it one of the more severe one's that he's had today?"_

"From what I can tell, yes… He got sick, and the pain has been very crippling to him… He was so lethargic when I got home; I had to carry him to bed… I feel so bad, Pavla…"

"_It's only natural for you to feel that way. You worry for your husband a lot."_

"Yeah… I know. I worry probably more than I should."

"_I'm sure he appreciates your worry, Andelko. You're a good man. He's lucky to have someone like you to take care of him."_

"I suppose… I just wish there was something I could do for him. All I can ever do is just hold him and hope to God that his pain goes away…"

"_You do more than what a lot of people would do… Have you ever thought of getting him on antidepressants? I've heard that some kinds work to reduce frequency and severity of migraines."_

"I'll bring it up to him later… He's a pharmacist, so he should have easy access to any antidepressants that could help him."

"_Did he quit his job as a trauma nurse?"_

"Yes… He had to; the stress there was triggering his migraines to no end."

"_I can understand that. Has quitting that job decreased the migraines, or are they still the same?"_

"Well, the frequency decreased quite a bit. He used to suffer them nearly every day. Now it's only once or twice a week. They're still just as severe, if not worse than when he worked at the hospital."

"_Hm… Well, if you want to come have some drinks with us, just give me a call, alright? I hope Novak feels better after he gets his rest."_

"Thanks Pavla. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye."

Andelko hung up and set his phone down on the kitchen table before going to the living room and sitting on the couch. He grabbed the remote control for the television and turned on the TV, making sure to keep the volume down low. He flipped the channel to the local news and allowed himself some time to relax, now that Novak was asleep and his work was done.

After about an hour of watching television, Andelko was interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around him from behind the couch. He tilted his head back to find Novak smiling down at him.

"Feeling better?" He asked the Serbian.

"Yeah… A lot better. The nausea is even gone." Novak replied, letting go of Andelko and rounding the couch to sit next to him.

"That's great to hear…" Andelko said, wrapping an arm around the waist of the younger man.

"Yeah. While I was asleep, did you do anything? Or did you just hang around?" The Serb questioned.

"Mainly just hung around here. Did my work, talked to Pavla on the phone, watched the news…"

"What did you talk to Pavla about?"

"Well, she invited me to go out with her, Branko, and Niko for some drinks. I told her I didn't know since I wasn't sure if you'd be feeling better… Then we got to talking about you. Novak, have you ever thought of trying antidepressants for your migraines? She told me that some assist in decreasing the frequency and severity of them."

Novak thought for a moment, digging in his mind through all of that medical information Andelko knew was in there.

"Well… I could try. There's no harm in that. I'll do a bit of research and find out what kinds should help… Then I'll pay for them and get a prescription… It's worth a shot, I mean… My migraines are horrible… I'll do anything to block them, or at least delay them."

Andelko pulled Novak closer and placed a chaste kiss to his lips.

"You know I'd do anything to help you get rid of these migraines. You aren't the only one affected by them… It makes me feel terrible, knowing that all I can do is sit and wait for you to feel better."

"Don't feel so bad, Andy. I know you do everything in your power to help me; it's more than I can ever ask of you. You're my husband for a reason." Novak responded with a smile, leaning his head on the shoulder of the Croat. Andelko chuckled.

"I'm your husband for many reasons. One is the fact that I love you."

"Yeah, I know… I love you too, Andy."

The two shared a second kiss and all seemed to be fine. For now, at least. Novak's migraines weren't going away permanently anytime soon. But they both knew that Novak could endure the pain like he had been for years, and that Andelko, despite his worrying, would do his best not to feel so bad.

Migraines were one thing the two would not allow to ruin them.


End file.
